Timelines

Timelines play a critical role in genealogical research. This is
especially
true when using any type of court records dealing with land and probate
matters. I just returned from the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy where
I
took the 20 course tract on Land and Court Records in Genealogical
Research.
The importance of timelines was a major focus in discussion throughout
the
week. This is the first in a series of articles describing their
importance
to the genealogical research process.

Family historians are accustomed to using charts and forms to organize
their
research. Pedigree charts, family group sheets, and descendant lists are
standard tools of the trade. Timelines are critical in helping
genealogists
search for and verify information gathered during the research process.
All
genealogists must learn the tools for evaluating the information gathered
from family members, neighbors, passenger lists, court records, vital
records, family Bibles, or any other type of source from which information
is gathered. At some point the following question must be asked: Does
the
information gathered fit the circumstances?

Timelines are defined as a chart that graphically shows events over a
period
of time. Depending on the type of timeline that is generated, these events
may be for an individual, a family, or several generations. Some timelines
show personal events in comparison with another person (or persons), such
as
birth and death. Others compare a person's life against a backdrop of
historical events.

The usefulness of a timeline may not be immediately apparent. After all,
genealogists are familiar with reading ancestor charts and family group
sheets. While they can be compared to the lives of two people, they may
not
be the best charts to use if several people are being compared or if the
people are not related. Details can be overlooked in the lines of text on
a
family group sheet, but a timeline - with its colors and bars - literally
diagrams a person's life.

The graphical format of a timeline, as opposed to traditional text-based
charts, can be an aid to research and analysis. Suddenly, it can be very
obvious that a mother was over 50 years old when her last child was born
or
that there was a ten-year span between the births of two children. Both of
these items should be clues for further research. Was the last child
actually a grandchild? In those ten years, was there a child who died in
infancy? The different format of a timeline can make these details more
obvious.

Some programs allow users to add historical events to a timeline, which
can
give clues for further research. They can also give historical context to
the family by allowing the researcher Some programs allow users to add
historical events to a timeline, which can give clues for further
research.
They can also give historical context to the family by allowing the
researcher to add events that were happening around the family. It is very
easy to be overwhelmed with historical events. Careful researchers will
include only those events that affected the family. If the family was
living
in the United States during the Civil War, it would be hard for them not
to
be affected.

Several of the new genealogical programs and software offer timeline
charting as part of the program's capability. We will discuss these
programs in the next article.